


hearts of gold

by MidnightRaven



Category: Haikyuu!!, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Pokemon - Freeform, Polyamory, Slice of Life, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-06
Updated: 2017-05-06
Packaged: 2018-10-27 04:42:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10801959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightRaven/pseuds/MidnightRaven
Summary: People say eternal happiness lies at the end of the rainbow. The three of them, however, don't need a rainbow or any legends. They've found their light within each other.





	hearts of gold

**Author's Note:**

> Written a long time ago and finished for HQ OT3 Week (day 6- any crossover/au)!

Drifloon bobbed in the air, swaying with the small breeze as he looked at his surroundings. Two hot-air balloons hung in the sky on either side of the pokemon’s side, floating steadily at a constant height. With a little sound, Drifloon circled a bit, clutching the small black ring in his stringy arms.

“Alright! Akaashi, let’s go!” Bokuto cheered, holding up a pokeball and releasing his Noctowl. Akaashi stood behind him in the balloon with his Ninetales maintaining a steady flame for the hot-air balloon. “Remember this is just training, Bokuto. Go easy on Archeops, he just evolved.”

“Don’t worry Akaashi! I’ve got this!” Bokuto reassured, turning to face him as his Noctowl gave a disgruntled hoot from behind him. “I’ll go so easy on him that he’s gonna think he’s a champion!”

“....We’re starting soon,” Akaashi said, nodding to where Kuroo had just released his Archeops. Bokuto hurriedly turned around, leering at Kuroo across the space between them. It was returned with a lewd gesture that had Bokuto hooting excitedly.

“Pay attention to the battle,” Akaashi advised with an exasperated look, signalling to the Drifloon without double checking their readiness. At the signal, Drifloon dropped the ring before drifting out of range of the upcoming fight and returning to his pokeball. Bokuto squawked, unprepared for the sudden start, and nearly lunged out of the basket to gesture at Noctowl.

“After the ring!”

Echoing his trainer’s squawk, Noctowl whirled around and darted for the ring. Across from them, Archeops had already begun flying after the ring, his path just the slightest bit wavery. The two dived for the ring, picking up speed as they shed altitude.

“Archeops, be careful!” Kuroo cautioned, leaning halfway out of his basket to make sure he got a perfect view of the battle. He ignored Kenma tugging at his shirt, silently bringing him away from the edge, and anxiously watched his newly evolved pokemon. Once Archeops had evolved, he could fly, but he had spent the past few months of his life ground bound and wasn’t entirely confident in flying- not yet.

‘ _Get the ring and get to the goal as fast as possible. You need to put the ring onto the hook to win_ ,’ he had told Archeops. ‘ _You won’t outfly Noctowl just yet, but you’re certainly stronger than him and Bokuto. Hit them with all you’ve got_.’

With a screech, Noctowl collided with Archeops as the two scrabbled at each other for the ring. Noctowl easily gained the advantage, his movements sure and steady. He fluttered out with the ring firmly clamped in his beak, though his feathers were ruffled from the scuffle. Nonetheless, Noctowl chirped smugly through the ring.

“That’s right! Show them how it’s done Noctowl!” Bokuto cheered, rocking the basket in his excitement. Akaashi appreciated the way the sun lit up his eyes as he blankly waited out the swaying. The idea of going easy seemed to have slipped Bokuto’s mind.

“No worries, Archeops! Ancient Power, slow them down!” Kuroo called, quick to scan the area for any advantages. Archeops chased after Noctowl, jaws opening to gather a silver energy in front of him.

Bokuto, now totally into the battle and hyperfocused, remained unfazed. “You can outfly him, Noctowl, head for the goal!”

With a loud cry, the silver ball in front of Archeops was launched towards Noctowl, splitting into smaller silver balls that faded into glowing rocks. Angling his wings, Noctowl expertly dodged the shower of rocks, the sloppy attack having been off target by a few inches. He sharply turned, putting more space between him and the other pokemon.

“Agility and Quick Attack, cut Noctowl off!”

Archeops took a moment to reorient his balance before shooting off, outlined with blurred streaks from his speedy acceleration. The streak of silver that followed his movement traced his flight down, cutting close to Noctowl. Noctowl swerved to avoid it but was quickly cut off by several pounds crashing into him at high speed.

“NOO!” Bokuto shrieked, his hair seemingly bristling with him.

Archeops quickly realigned himself, stretching out to grab the ring still in Noctowl’s beak. He began flapping and pulling, kicking his feet at Noctowl. Noctowl screeched, attempting to keep his hold on the ring but was quickly dislodged by the other’s much stronger talons. Archeops hurriedly pulled away and dove for the makeshift goal on the ground.

“Get to the goal, Archeops!” Kuroo whooped, sending a smug leer at Bokuto.

“We’re not losing to someone that just evolved! Noctowl, Sky Attack!” Akaashi coughed, staring at Bokuto intensely from behind as Kuroo, who had heard the command, yelped out a strangled ‘ _BRO_.’ from across them.

Bokuto jolted. “AH- er, Sky Attack, gently!”

Noctowl let out a loud cry as a whitish visible aura of pure power began forming around his body. At the revised command, the aura faded a bit as he started diving, no longer needing to charge up the power any longer. Almost like a white lightning bolt, he dropped sharply down at Archeops’ back.

To Kuroo’s dismay, the weakened attack was still enough to knock his pokemon out of the sky. Archeops squawked, dropping the ring as he frantically flapped in an attempt to stop his plummeting. Noctowl easily plucked the ring from the air before catching a downwind breeze, riding it down towards the goal.

“Archeops, you’re okay! Open your wings and glide!” Kuroo quickly instructed, clutching the basket as he watched his pokemon fall with bated breath.

Archeops continued panicking, only managing to straighten out towards the last few feet from the ground. He hit the sandy ground with a hard thump, his talons digging into the earth, and he quickly dashed towards the goal.

Only to find Noctowl had already reached it and dropped the ring onto the prong, winning the PokeRinger match.

Archeops squawked and puffed up his feathers in his annoyance, giving him an odd look as he was bare of feathers on his head and neck. Noctowl landed on the goal, chest puffed up in pride, and preened his unruffled feathers. He shot Archeops a downright smug look and gave a low hoot.

Archeops bristled, feathers stiff, before disregarding it. He turned around and took off, fluttering his way back to Kuroo. He perched on the balloon basket, wobbling a bit.

“Good job, Archeops, we’ll get them next time,” Kuroo consoled, petting his scaly head. With a final huff, Archeops settled down and turned to Kenma with a happy squawk, demanding attention. Kenma looked up from his phone, sitting up from where he had been leaning against a Typhlosion. “You’re finished?”

“Yeah.” Kuroo paused, clearing his throat nervously, fidgeting. “You- uh- do you have them?”

Kenma nodded, eyes darting to the bag in the corner of the basket. He had made sure it had not drawn any extra attention as it was unusual that they brought any bags to their training sessions when their lodging was barely a few minutes walk away. Akaashi had given him a long stare but hadn't asked thankfully.

“Red and white, just like you asked,” Kenma muttered, taking the bag and handing it over. Kuroo took the bag gently and delicately took out the package wrapped in brown paper, treating the bundle as if it was worth several pounds of gold.

“Thanks, Kenma.” Kuroo slowly unwrapped the bundle, peering in. He quickly fished out a pen from his pocket and slowly wrote on the contents. He smiled softly, and a bit uncertainly, as he carefully rewrapped it and turned to Archeops. “You up for one more flight?”

From their position, even a long distance away from the other hot air balloon, they could hear Bokuto’s cheering from his victory.

* * *

“Ninetales, bring us down,” Akaashi murmured.

The heat of the burner above them faded as his Ninetales weakened the flames, two long tails muffling the fire. The hot air balloon slowly lost altitude with no hitches; the smooth descent was telling of Ninetales’ skill.

“Great job! That was amazing, Noctowl- you beat them like a champ!” Bokuto praised excitedly, flailing his arms at his Pokemon in an attempt to describe his awesomeness. Noctowl preened from where he was perched on the ledge of the basket, very satisfied.

“You only beat a newly evolved Pokemon that only just learned to fly,” Akaashi quipped. “What happened to taking it easy on them?”

“AH- erm. I decided that I needed to up the intensity!” Bokuto tried. “Noctowl was going pretty easy on them!”

Akaashi exhaled in a way that Bokuto knew was both in exasperation and amusement. Figuring he wasn’t in any trouble, he grinned, smacking his chest with his palm. “Aren’t I great?!”

“Don’t push it.”

Noctowl’s head swiveled around and both Trainers turned to watch as Archeops made his way over towards them. Kuroo merely smiled and waved when he was shot questioning looks. The fossil pokemon landed jerkily beside Noctowl, stubbornly turning his head away from the other with an irritated air.

Up close, they both could see Archeops gently holding a package wrapped in brown paper in his jaws.

Akaashi took the package and unwrapped it; Bokuto hovering over his shoulder making little curious noises. Inside the package were two bundles of flowers wrapped in clear plastic; three roses that were cleanly cut and de-thorned in each.  
  
White roses for Bokuto. Red roses for Akaashi.

Their names were scribbled on the plastic wrapping in the oddly elegant handwriting Kuroo could manage- if he tried his hardest and wrote slowly that is.

Red for passion; white for purity.

Both for unity.

Or at least that was what Kuroo wanted to convey, his eyes flickering anywhere but the two and his shoulders tense as he stepped out of his hot air balloon. The idea had come to him last night and he had gotten Kenma to help him to make this possible. But looking back, he was rather embarrassed- anxious at their reactions. Kenma quickly left, having a good guess at what would be their reactions. He was followed by Typhlosion, both their faces scrunched up.

Bokuto bounded up with Akaashi only half a step behind, roses in hand and eyes bright. He planted a sloppy, messy kiss on Kuroo’s mouth that was full of teeth as Bokuto couldn’t stop his wide grin. It was followed by a much more controlled peck and hands squeezing his, warm and assuring.

Kuroo breathed. “I’m so glad you guys liked that.”

* * *

“Bokuto. I hope you realize none of us have any pokemon that can help us if we tip over.”

Kuroo merely eyed the water warily, not adding anything to Akaashi’s bland statement. The three of them were currently in a row boat that Bokuto had somehow gotten his hands on. He sat in the middle, rowing the boat further out into the large lake with Kuroo and Akaashi sitting in front of him.

Akaashi eyed the flexing of Bokuto’s arms as he rowed the boat before dubiously looking down at the boat. It was a decent size so the three of them fit comfortably and let Bokuto bring that small basket he had. However, it was rather beat up looking and the rocking made Akaashi and Kuroo uneasy.

Bokuto pouted at their reactions but wasn’t really deterred. “Akaashi, we’re almost there! We’re not gonna tip over!”

The water was shining under the crescent moon, the endless dark navy glimmering with the reflected moonlight. Occasionally there was a soft glow beneath the water- most likely a passing Chinchou or two, maybe even a Lanturn. The air was refreshing, the breeze bringing the smell of ocean and a faint flowery scent.

 _It’s pretty peaceful_ , Akaashi thought, eyes scanning the large expanse of water around them. It was only broken by the shore they had come from and a few large rocks. Out here it was quiet, they were far enough that the sounds of the town didn’t reach them. The low, rhythmic sound of the waves around them was a pleasant background noise. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a fin break the surface of the waves, but when he turned to look, it was gone- leaving only ripples in the otherwise undisturbed water.

Bokuto made an excited noise from the back of his throat, spotting something and turning the boat rather sharply. Kuroo gave a strangled yelp of ‘ _Bokuto_!’ as he grabbed the sides of the boat in alarm.

“Look,” Bokuto exclaimed, extremely proud and eager, “over there!”

Pulling the oars in and tucking them out of the way, Bokuto let the boat drift forward with the leftover momentum. At first it looked as if nothing was different; the water was the same, the skies were clear, the large rocks they were drifting by were merely rocks. Then-

Kuroo noticed the first petal. They all then saw the rest- all spread out.

Scattered over the water were numerous petals, mainly pink with the occasional white or red mixed in. Kuro thought he even spotted some purple ones. They drifted further until they were surrounded by petals as far as they could see, riding the waves.

“Bokuto…” Akaashi breathed, hands dipping into the water to touch a few petals, watching as they bobbed and swirled in the water. The colours were darkened at night but the moonlight brought out a different kind of colour- a softer one than what the sunlight would have brought. They contrasted well with the water and the reflected moonlight, while not eye catching yet utterly beautiful.

Soon, the boat came to a stop, gently rocking with the waves. The petals surrounding them gave off the feel as if they had entered an entirely new area. To further that feeling, the air was slowly filling with will-o-wisps, the ghostly blue-fire hovering around them.

“Damn, Bo….” Kuroo whispered, mouth agape in awe as he twisted around to take in the entire view. “This is incredible.”

Bokuto perked up, carefully making sure he didn’t rock the boat. It wouldn’t be ideal to ruin all the planning he did by tipping them all overboard and into the water- neither of them would appreciate it either. Twisting around, he reached into the small basket he had brought and eagerly pulled out two flower crowns.

“Come closer!” Bokuto said excitedly, gesturing for them to lean towards him. As soon as they were within arms length, he draped a crown upon each of their heads and leaned back- taking in the view with a bright and satisfied grin.

On Kuroo’s head was a mixture of yellow, blue and white; yellow amaryllis and blue forget-me-nots entwined with mistletoes. Kuroo reached up to touch the flowers, snorting when his fingers came away covered in a thin layer of glitter.

Akaashi peered up at what he could see, wary of touching it after seeing the glitter on Kuroo’s fingers- softly curled petals that peeked into his eyesight with the shine of the glitter reflecting the moonlight. He wore a mix of yellow, white and red; yellow daffodils and white sweet peas laced together with holly.

“Is this mistletoe?” Kuroo snickered, poking at one of the white berries on his hair. Bokuto nodded, jabbing a finger in his direction.

“Those are amaryllis, forget-me-nots and mistletoe,” he then turned to Akaashi, motioning to his mix of flowers, “and those are daffodils, sweet peas and holly!”

Akaashi smiled, gazing at the flowers that contrasted wonderfully with the mess that was Kuroo’s hair; the colours stood bright against the black strands but soft enough that it merely emphasised the overlooked beauty Kuroo had- most people merely saw the bedhead and his sharp grin.

“These are beautiful.”

Kuroo leaned over to throw an arm over Akaashi’s shoulder, pushing their cheeks together with a soft grin and drawling, “You’ve made us so pretty, Bo.”

There was no reply, in fact Bokuto didn’t think he could reply.

His breath stuck on an inhale and arms limp, his previous excitement fading away into a tender, awe filled feeling that warmed him all through out. Because-

Because there was nothing that could ever top the sight of Akaashi and Kuroo with delicate flowers resting on their heads; the moonlight outlining their features with depth and silver, the small blink-and-you’ll-miss-it quirk of Akaashi’s lips, the spark in their eyes that was accented by the wisps of flame surrounding them. Both their faces relaxed and everything about them affectionate and warm and entirely _content_ with the small gifts he had given them.

“Bokuto?”

Bokuto snapped out of it, releasing the breath of air that had gotten stuck in his throat before launching himself at them- to Kuroo’s massive horror. The boat lurched violently as he wrapped the two of them up with his arms with teary eyes and a massive, toothy smile.

“I LOVE YOU TWO SO MUCH!”

“BOKUTO I SWEAR-”

“BOKUTO.”

* * *

Sometimes, Akaashi wished he could just...tune out the world for a few minutes.

The crackle of fire, the snapping of branches, the roar of the fire itself or the repeated apologizes being blubbered out. He wished he couldn't hear any of it. Or see any of it. Maybe then it would seem like everything was totally normal and fine and _not burning to ashes_.

At the very least, they weren’t in any major danger as the fire had only spread with the trees and grass outside of the sandy training ground they were in. On the other hand, the fire had grown big enough that the sand would not be of any use in putting out the flames.

“Bokuto, Kuroo, please return your pokemon.” Akaashi finally acknowledged them, ignoring their apologizes and staring at them and their rather sheepish pokemon. Bokuto had been fighting Kuroo with his Infernape, resulting in an overpowered fire-type move and landing them in the situation they were currently in.

“Sawamura’s on his way,” Kuroo informed, putting the PokeGear they borrowed back into his pocket. He scratched his head sheepishly. “He’s livid we set his training ground ablaze….”

“I’m so sorry!” Bokuto cried, hands in his hair, “I didn’t think that Overheat-”

“-would potentially start a forest fire?” Akaashi flatly finished, glowering at him. The other froze and stared, hands frozen in place.

“Whoa.” Bokuto breathed, “Damn Akaashi, you’re beautiful.”

Kuroo made an appreciative sound and leaned over for a better look, soaking in the sight. He couldn’t tell if the thrill that ran down his spine was from the actual flames or from the view in front of them.

Akaashi’s face was illuminated by the flickering flames dancing around them. His hair took on a slight orange glean, softly glowing and bleaching some of the outermost strands a golden yellow. The fire framed his face in many colours of warm oranges and reds; the fluttering of the fire around him strangely hypnotic and alluring as it highlighted Akashi’s figure. The sparks that floated in the air like makeshift fireflies gave everything an otherworldly atmosphere.

Akaashi made a face at their looks just as a familiar roar echoed across the training grounds, reassuring in the fact that help had come.

“Sounds like they’re here,” Kuroo commented as he turned to peer through the trees, though not without one last final look at Akaashi, soaking in the image.

There was a plume of smoke from the distance and another rush of water crashed into the forest, sending up more smoke with a hiss. The air started filling with smoke as the hissing of water meeting fire filled the area. Several more streams of water joined the fray, the small Water Guns seemingly pitiful compared to the first two Hydro Pumps. There was a ‘ _whoosh_ ’ and they looked up to see a Castform, in midst of transforming into its Rainy form, floating into the middle of the rainstorm caused by Rain Dance. The air began clearing as several flying-types swept away the smoke- a Fearow darting into the clearing for a moment.

“Oh no.” Kuroo blanched. “Kenma’s also here. He’s going to kill us.”

“Not before I do,” Akaashi murmured under his breath. Fortunately, none of them heard them over the hissing of the extinguishing fire.

* * *

“I’m not even going to say anything.”

Kuro grimaced, nearly cringing at his friend’s look. “We really didn’t mean to, Kenma.”

“Don’t apologize to me.”

At that Kuroo did cringe, turning to where the last of the flames were being put out. Sawamura was surveying the damage with a twitchy look, mouth pulled down in a heavy frown. Most of the trees had not survived being burnt and then having several tons of water dumped on them. The trees were stripped of their leaves and many branches were cracked. The fire had managed to essentially destroy majority of the training ground, only the clearing was left almost untouched, solely because of the sand.

“We..um..destroyed your training grounds and burnt down nearly all the trees- uh, the grounds are probably never going to look the same anymore, actually, and well- we’re really sorry.”

Sawamura sighed. “You’re lucky we were all closeby. It could have gotten dangerous.”

The glass at the perimeter of the clearing was evidence enough that as time went on, they could have been in major trouble.

“I should have expected this,” Sawamura ignored the mock offended look Kuroo shot him and gestured towards Bokuto, “especially if you two were together.”

“SAWAMURA, I’M SO SO SORRY ABOUT THIS!”

Sawamura winced at the loud wail but waved the other off. “It’s fine, we can renovate the whole thing.”

“Still. I apologize for not handling them better,” Akaashi objected, dipping his head down in a formal apology.

“I’m not sure anyone can handle them any better than you,” Sawamura pointed out with a grin before shrugging. “Really, no one’s hurt and Ukai will probably give a token lecture but he’s been pushing for an updated training ground. This one’s pretty plain and outdated.”

“Well,” he paused, taking in the charred surroundings with a rueful grin, “was outdated. It’s not really a training ground anymore.”

“We’ll take care of this, don’t worry about it.” With that last assurance, Sawamura went back to his team, leaving Akaashi with Kuroo and Bokuto.

Sighing, Akaashi eyed the two out of the corner of his eyes. “ _Never_ do this ever again.”

“Yes, Akaashi!”

* * *

Even deep in the woods they could feel the incoming snowstorm, the air frigid and their breaths misty clouds in the air.

“We should go back to Snowbelle soon,” Akaashi muttered, glancing up at the sky that was overrun by clouds. The wind blew stronger with every pass and he zipped up his jacket to the top, tucking his face into his jacket collar. Kuroo nodded, acknowledging the statement, before turning back to his pokemon.

“Alright, Typhlosion! Once more- Extrasensory.”

Typhlosion let out a low rumble, the temperature around them spiked as he concentrated and pinned the opposing pokemon with a sharp stare. The Amoonguss that they challenged attempted to puff up, releasing multiple spores into the air. Typhlosion’s eyes flashed gold and the air wavered before being fully distorted by an invisible pulse of power.

Amoonguss easily hopped to the side, letting the psychic pulse scatter the spores instead of taking a hit, and retaliated by spraying toxic spores at Typhlosion. Everyone but Typhlosion backed further away to stay out of range of the Poison Power. Typhlosion’s neck flared up with blaze of fire as he spat out an Ember to burn away most of the spores, turning them into a purple smog that floated harmlessly into the air before fading.

“Okay, Typhlosion, come back. Let’s go before it starts snowing,” Kuroo called before turning to the wild Amoonguss. “Thank you for your help!”

Amoonguss blew a weak cloud of Stun Sport in their direction before hopping away, seemingly displeased at the conclusion of their battle. Typhlosion snorted at the retreating pokemon before ambling over to Kuroo’s side with a sneeze.

“That Amoonguss totally insulted you,” Bokuto informed, laughing at Kuroo. Kuroo whacked his chest with the back of his hand, grinning. “Nah, probably glad to get away from you and your pestering.”

“Come on, le-” Kuroo’s words were cut off by a snowflake falling on his face, blinking in surprise. It had began snowing.

“I don’t think we’ll reach Snowbelle before it gets worse,” Akaashi informed, observing the sky and the way the trees had began swaying under short buffets of harsh winds. “We should go find some shelter.”

“We can go back to that rocky area, try and find a cave?” Bokuto suggested, flapping a hand in the direction of some cliffs. He reached for a pokeball excitedly, “Here, Infernape, let’s go find a cave!”

The Fire-type cried out happily as he appeared, flaring up his flames at the frigid air and washing them all with a short wave of heat. The snow had turned into a flurry by now, limiting their vision and turning their cheeks red.

“Good idea,” Akaashi commented, moving to also bring out one of his own pokemon. Ninetales huffed the moment he registered the freezing temperature and pushed his muzzle into Akaashi’s hands, his hot breath visible in the cold. Kuroo’s Typhlosion gave a rumble before his flames flared up, adding to the small pocket of heat they had.

“I’ll do you guys one better.” Kuroo smugly sent out his Weavile, who mirrored his smirk and bared his teeth at them. Akaashi merely deadpanned as he sent out his own Ice-type, a Froslass.

Bokuto pouted and crossed his arms. “I don’t have any Ice-type pokemon!”

“No worries, Bo, you can help us scout around,” Kuroo said with a grin, “since you’re so hot the cold won’t affect you.” Bokuto perked up and chirped back, absolutely thrilled, “Maybe it’s just cause I’m too cool!”

Akaashi rolled his eyes as he turned to inform Weavile and Froslass about their duties and waved them off. The three of them would be fine with just their Fire-types while the two Ice-types could cover much more ground than they could any day, especially in this blizzard.

“Let’s go,” he called as he fiddled with his Holo Caster, putting an end to where the other two have been throwing puns at each other gleefully. The three of them walked towards the cliffs with Bokuto and Infernape in the lead, managing to tough out the cold with the help of their pokemon.

Kuroo pulled up the collar of his jacket just as Typhlosion’s flames sputtered for a moment. He frowned, suddenly concerned as he watched Typhlosion puff out a breath and visibly concentrate on flaring up his flames.

“Are you feeling okay?”

Typhlosion snorted before nodding so they continued on, though not without Kuroo throwing the occasional look at his pokemon. Up in front of them, Bokuto and Infernape were scanning the area that was quickly becoming covered in snow while Akaashi and Ninetales picked their way through the forest, both alert and searching for any hints of shelter. The three of them had spread out to cover more ground, even though the blizzard had voided most of this attempt, but they made sure to stay within sight of the others. Occasionally, one of them would catch sight of Froslass or Weavile- most likely checking in on them.

Kuroo bit his lip when the fire once again sputtered, fully stopping to face Typhlosion. He brought his hand up to the pokemon’s forehead before remembering that Fire-types generally ran a higher temperature than humans.

“Come on, we can go join Akaashi.” Kuroo gave Typhlosion another once over before offering worriedly, “I can return you if you don’t feel well. It’s fine, I’ll live.”

Typhlosion protested that idea, practically smashing his body into Kuroo as he shook his head. Kuroo ran his fingers though Typhlosion’s short fur as he sighed and herded them towards Akaashi. They fell into step with the other and Akaashi acknowledged them with a curious glance before going back to scanning their surroundings.

Weavile then appeared, stopping just before he hit Akaashi’s leg, flinging a bunch of snow into the air. Akaashi stoically closed his eyes to avoid any snow getting into them and brushed off the rest of it when Weavile snickered and climbed onto Kuroo’s back. Ninetales gave a grumble beside him as he shook the melting snow off his fur.

Kuroo huffed under Weavile’s weight but reached a hand over to scratch at the downy feathers near his neck. “Found anything?”

Weavile purred under his hand before baring his teeth in an imitation of a grin and pointed a claw further down. Froslass drifted in, crooning a greeting to her trainer and beckoning them in the direction Weavile had pointed to.

“Bokuto!” Akaashi called, waving the other back towards them. Bokuto popped out from where he had been hopping through a large snowbank, followed closely by Infernape who had happily been playing in the snow with his trainer. Kuroo pulled up his scarf to ward off the chill that had began nipping at his cheeks and nose, mindful of Weavile who was still perched on his shoulder.

The three of them followed Froslass further into the woods; their boots kicking up the snow that had built up on the ground and occasionally tripping over a covered root. Soon they reached a small opening within the rocky cliffs, barely visible and angled enough that the snow didn’t blow directly into the cave.

“Looks big enough,” Bokuto said, poking his head out of the narrow entrance. They shuffled in, Typhlosion and Infernape having to squeeze themselves a bit to fit through the entrance. Akaashi watched as Ninetales easily slid into the cave, tails flowing over each other to fit into the gap, before glancing up at Froslass.

“Would you like you stay out here?”

Froslass gave a happy trill, much more content in this blizzard than she would be in a heated cave or her pokeball. Akaashi watched as she swayed in the snowstorm fondly before ducking into the cave.

The cave itself wasn’t that big, just barely enough to fit all of them. The high ceiling gave it a more roomy feel and it looked abandoned. It was empty except for a few small rocks.

Kuroo had settled down at the back of the cave with Weavile curled up on one side and Typhlosion snuggled up by his other side, the pokemon’s head resting in his lap. Bokuto was slightly off to the side, shaking snow off himself with a laugh as Infernape evaporated the meltwater. Akaashi took a seat as Ninetales walked over to sprawl out behind him, muzzle pressed up to his thigh before he huffed a breath and closed his eyes to nap.

“Hopefully this isn’t going to last all day,” Kuroo said, warming up his icy fingers in the fur by Typhlosion’s neck.

“I wouldn’t mind!” Bokuto exclaimed, plopping down near them. “We can play cards!”

“But we don’t have cards?” Kuroo said questioningly. Bokuto poked his tongue out at him and pulled a deck of cards out of his jacket. “I’m always prepared!”

“We’re not playing Go Fish,” Akaashi hurriedly put in, having flashbacks of previous incidents. Kuroo pouted but didn’t push for it as they all shuffled closer to him, who was the least likely out of them to be able to move with both his pokemon pressed against him.

Bokuto quickly shuffled and passed out the cards, making sure to also give Infernape a set. “Let’s play President then!”

Weavile peered at the cards in Kuroo’s hands, making an aborted motion to swipe at them. The Ice-type blinked innocent eyes up at his trainer before settling down to merely watch them. Bokuto unzipped his jacket as they started playing, warm from the now heated cave.

Within the first round, all of them were once again familiar with the rules of the game and had started cursing each other for any particularly good plays. Infernape smacked down his last card, winning that round and earning sulken pouts from his trainer. He laughed, snorting out a few embers as Bokuto picked up all the cards.

“REMATCH!” Bokuto demanded, shuffling the cards and dealing them out as fast as possible. They continued to play, sometimes switching up the game or letting their pokemon pick a card for them.

“I win!” Kuroo screamed, slamming down a Kingler of Spades. Bokuto shrieked at him, throwing his cards down. Akaashi casually dropped his trump card on top of the Kingler and leaned back, satisfaction pouring from him.

“Actually, I win.”

“AKAASHII-” Bokuto and Kuroo both screeched before cutting of at a gagging noise. Immediately, Kuroo glanced down at Typhlosion who had rolled off his lap and was heaving. The Fire-type let out a wheezy cough, sending out a few sparks that landed on the pile of cards and burned them.

Kuroo ran his hand down Typhlosion’s back, attempting to soothe the pokemon. Weavile watched from a distance, careful to keep his naturally cold body away in case that caused any harm.

“Akaashi? I don’t think he’s at the right temperature, he’s a bit cold,” Kuroo said worriedly, his hand on Typhlosion’s shaking flank as the Fire-type curled up. Akaashi came over, clinically running his hands over Typhlosion and checking his vitals before frowning.

“It’s a fever,” Akaashi told them, one hand monitoring Typhlosion’s heartbeat. Typhlosion blinked slowly up at them; his breathing sounded much heavier now that the cave had gone silent. Bokuto rocked on his heels, nibbling on his lip and asked, “He’ll need heat right? Infernape can help with that.”

Akaashi nodded, glancing at Infernape who bobbed his head in total agreement with his trainer and slid closer- the flames on his head flaring up noticeably. Ninetales was already by his side, laying down close to Typhlosion and while there was no visible change, the air around them got stifling hot. They all ignored it, watching as Typhlosion’s shivering slowed.

“He’s poisoned,” Akaashi realized, meeting Kuroo’s eyes. “The battle with the Amoonguss.”

“The Poison Power,” Kuroo breathed, catching on. “I thought it didn’t touch him.”

“I don’t have any antidotes with me, Kuroo,” Akaashi said, pulling the other out of his downward spiral of self-blame and guilt. “We’ll need to find some berries or herbs- Pecha, Oran, Sitrus, Remeyo or Salveyo Weed.”

Kuroo took a fortifying breath, hand steady on Typhlosion’s side. “We can forget about the herbs, any lakes would be frozen and it’d be dangerous with freezing cold water. But in this weather…”

“Would there be any berries?” Bokuto continued softly as picked at his pants. As if reminding them, the cave howled with a particularly harsh gale that sent in a rush of cold air into their shelter.

“We have to at least try,” Kuroo snapped, turning to Weavile. “Can you please? Anything you can find that could help.”

Weavile gave a rough purr, hooking his paw around Kuroo’s wrist in reassurance before he darted out of the cave. He carried his trainer’s hopes with him, he wouldn’t fail that.

Akaashi quickly called out to the Ice-type, “Ask Froslass to help search too!”

Kuroo busied himself with making Typhlosion as comfortable as possible, stroking the pokemon and murmuring soothing words. He ignored the sweat gathering on his forehead. Akaashi ran his fingers through Ninetales’ fur and reached for Bokuto’s hand.

They couldn’t do anything but wait.

Bokuto idly swept his free hand though the ash that was his cards, the silence uncomfortable and grating. Infernape’s tail brushed his side and he straightened up, chewing his lip and mulling over something. Akaashi pulled him out of his thoughts when he took his hand and brushed off the charcoal.

“Hey, Kuroo,” Bokuto called, shuffling closer after finding what he was looking for. Kuroo spared him a glance before going back to Typhlosion, helplessly carting his fingers along the short fur. Bokuto nudged his arm with a bottle of water. “You should take a drink. Especially if you’re going to stay next to him.”

Kuroo licked his lips, just now registering they were dry and cracked. He took the bottle, sighing, “Ah- yeah. Thanks, Bo.”

He had finished half the water when Akaashi reached other to unwrap Kuroo’s scarf, folding it over his arms and setting it aside. “Take off your jacket, Kuroo. You’ll suffer from heatstroke.”

Kuroo gave a weak smile, shrugging off his jacket and putting it aside. “It’s not that hot, Akaashi. I’ll live.”

“You should take off your pants too!” Bokuto chirped, carefully watching Kuroo. He perked up when the other gave a startled snicker, shaking his head. Kuroo paused before giving a softer, humourless laugh.

“I’m sorry. I’m overreacting.” He soothed one hand down Typhlosion’s back, more for himself if he was being honest. Typhlosion gave a huff, nosing his knee before settling down again. “I know he’ll be fine, he can probably fight this off by himself. It’s nothing major but-”

“You don’t want to see him hurt when you can do something about it,” Bokuto filled in with a soft smile and it eased Kuroo’s nerves. “Kuroo, that’s not overreacting! You care and we certainly don’t mind. We want him to get better as soon as possible too.”

“But you don’t need to drive yourself up the wall worrying. Whether Weavile and Froslass come back with anything or not, Typhlosion will be fine,” Akaashi said, tilting his head down to the sleeping Fire-type. “Look, he’s already resting it off. He wasn’t badly poisoned.”

Kuroo hummed his agreement as he watched Typhlosion breathe. What Akaashi had said was true but he felt horrible for not noticing beforehand. He should have noticed. Akaashi’s Ninetales pressed his nose to his side and slowly blinked up at him. Kuroo gave a silent laugh and couldn't help the smile that broke across his face; he swore Ninetales was chastising him for those thoughts.

The silence was broken by a hiss and claws scrabbling on rock. Weavile burst into the cave with his fur bristling standing on it’s end. Froslass stayed by the entrance, keeping the chill from seeping further into the cave, and gave a laughing warble. Weavile snarled at her, hackles raising impossibly higher.

“Weavile- stop that,” Kuroo scolded, shifting in case he needed to get up and break up a potential fight. Fortunately, Weavile only gave a dark look before disregarding the other pokemon. He padded over to drop a few berries into Akaashi’s lap and curled up in the furthest corner away from Froslass, eyeing the other and sharpening his claws on the cave walls.

Akaashi threw a ‘really now’ look at Froslass as she left before turning to the berries. They were shriveled up, much smaller than he would like, but they weren't spoiled. He rolled the berries in his hand. “Oran and Pecha.”

“They’re not that great are they.” Bokuto scrunched up his face at the wrinkled berries. Akaashi shook his head before shrugging one shoulder. “Not the best, but they’ll help.”

He handed them over to Kuroo, who was gently tapping Typhlosion awake. Typhlosion made a questioning noise as he blearily looked at his trainer. Kuroo held out the small handful of berries under his nose and he sniffed them before eating them all.

“Is the blizzard dying down?” Kuroo asked, looking over his shoulder at Weavile. Weavile gave a low hiss and Kuroo frowned. He turned back to everyone, giving a worried look outside. “The snow’s not dying down, we might be stuck here for awhile…”

“I hope our teams aren’t sending a search party for us,” Bokuto said, lacing his hands together behind his head and staring at the ceiling as if it would have all the answers. “They should be fine right?”

Akaashi waved off his concern. “Don’t worry about them. I let Kenma know we’d go find some shelter before the storm set in. We should be fine for at least a night here if needed.”

Someone’s stomach growled and Akaashi paused. “Maybe not.”

Kuroo guffawed, “That wasn’t me.”

“I’ll be fine! I’ll just eat an entire buffet when we get back!” Bokuto claimed, patting his stomach. Contrary to his words, his stomach gurgled loudly. Kuroo chuckled at him and turned to Akaashi. “I packed some snacks into your bag, they should do until we can get back.”

Akaashi snorted as he dug into his bag for the snacks that were certainly not there when he had packed the bag. Kuroo must have snuck them in when he wasn’t looking. He found a few chocolate-covered granola bars and he tossed two of them to Bokuto, who caught the first one but missed the next. Infernape snatched up the second bar before it could hit the ground, handing it to his trainer who had already bitten into his first granola bar.

Akaashi picked at the packaging of another bar as he watched Kuroo coo at Typhlosion, bending over to press their foreheads together as affectionate murmurs and get well soons were given without a second thought. Typhlosion pressed back gently, eyes closing in content. Something warm spread through his heart and Akaashi turned to Ninetales, burying a hand in his silky fur.

He offered a piece of granola to Ninetales and the pokemon lifted his head up to give the treat a curious sniff before ignoring it. He laid his head down and blinked at Akaashi slowly, gaze intense and lacking any intent. Akaashi met his gaze warmly.

 _More for me then_ , he thought and popped the piece into his mouth, not at all minding the melted chocolate.

The wind outside howled once again, but neither the chill nor the sound bothered them in their small heated cave.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [Tumblr (cawnvictofmurder)](http://cawnvictofmurder.tumblr.com/)  
> Let me know if you liked it (seriously please, this was a test to see if I could manage a pokemon au for my big project) and thank you for reading!
> 
> *Also, not pictured is Konoha hiding behind a large rock with Bokuto's Infernape for the will-o-wisp. They're doing their best to not fall into the ocean. Konoha wonders how he got roped into this.


End file.
